Golden Globes producer, UW alum lauds TV industry

Golden Globe Awards and Emmy Awards producer Al Schwartz, a
UW-Madison alum, expounded on his life as a producer and his years
studying theater at UW-Madison in front of communication arts
students Monday at Vilas Hall.

Schwartz was part of the first television class held in Science
Hall in 1953. When the first TV station, WKOW Channel 27, began in
Madison, its producers looked to UW-Madison's TV class for people
with experience. Schwartz took his first TV job at WKOW on a show
called Club 27.

""When I was in front of the camera, I would notice that the
cameramen, the stage managers, whoever were on the headsets, seemed
to be having a lot more fun than I was,"" Schwartz said. ""And then
when I got to do my turn in the booth, I found that I really
enjoyed the camaraderie and the work that it takes to put on a
television show. I said to myself, ‘this is really what I want to
do.'""

Soon after, Schwartz moved to Chicago and took a summer job at CBS
as a stage manager, eventually working there full-time. While
moving back and forth between Chicago and Hollywood, Schwartz
continued to produce shows, documentaries and even a political
commercial.

""This business of TV takes you into so many different places and
experiences that every project is a learning experience,"" Schwartz
said. ""It's not like having a job that you go to from 9-5 and you
go to the same desk and do the same things day in and day out.""

While producing shows in Hollywood, Schwartz met Dick Clark and
began a 30-year professional relationship with him. Today, Schwartz
is most famous for the shows he produced with Clark and his work on
the Golden Globes.

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